My wife and I just returned from a trip to London, Florence, Varenna and Milan and we are already talking about another European trip next September. We are definitely going back to Lake Como next year as my wife absolutely loved it but we are looking for a city in Europe to go to first before relaxing in Varenna. We would like someplace with history, museums and attractions to take up 4-5 days. We have been to London, Rome, Paris, Florence and Milan so we will be looking for someplace we have never been. The list we have at this point is Barcelona, Prague, Vienna, Athens and Berlin but we are open to anywhere. Thanks in advance
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16660 posts
Joe, did you miss the responses to your previous question?
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/would-love-thoughts-on-a-second-destination
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6849 posts
Venice seems like an obvious choice.
Posted by
8412 posts
Barcelona, Prague, Vienna, Athens and Berlin are all great places to visit. All have great things to see.
If you love ancient history, Athens were be first on the list. While Greece is having economic problems, a visit to Athens, the Acropolis, New Acropolis Museum, Archaeological Museum and other sights in Athens would be worth 4-5 days. Also, you could visit a couple of Greek Islands.
Berlin has the wonderful Pergamum Museum and Neues Museum has the bust of Nefertiti.
All the other places have much to see with Vienna being the most notable.
Also consider Amsterdam if you like Rembrandt and Van Gogh.
St. Petersburg would knock you socks off, take a Baltic Cruise and spend a couple of days there.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
My top ten European cities for museums
(in no particular order)
London
Paris
Amsterdam
Berlin
Munich
Vienna
Florence
Rome
Barcelona
Madrid
I'm not sure how long you have, but I would consider Berlin >> Munich >> Venice. I would also think about Lake Garda as a similar but new experience over returning to Varenna.
Posted by
San Antonio TX, United States
2393 posts
Vienna was my first thought. Such a beautiful city, great history, museums, food, architecture, the list keeps going!
Posted by
OP
Boston, MA, USA
262 posts
Kathy,
I thought I would also post it here to see if it might reach a different audience. People have suggested that in the past